Too Sexy For My Love

Council chief slammed over remark - The Star, 13th Nov 2006

• Penang Municipal Council president Datuk Abu Bakar Hassan should apologise to the media for his “insensitive” remark over the dressing of women journalists, said state deputy assembly speaker Datuk Lye Siew Weng.
• Abu Bakar had claimed on Saturday that the CCTV incident would not have happened if the journalist’s attire was not sexy. He also said a dress code would be drawn up for the media.
• The same day, New Straits Times journalist Melissa Darlyne Chow, 23, lodged a police report in which she alleged that the CCTV operator in the control room had outraged her modesty by focussing the camera on her thighs. Chow had said she was wearing decent office attire and her skirt was knee length when she attended the council meeting on Friday.
• Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said it was inappropriate for Abu Bakar to remark that if the dresses of women journalists were not sexy, the camera would not have zoomed on their thighs.
• State MCA youth chief Ooi Chuan Aik called for an independent body to be set up to investigate the incident.
• State Economic Planning, Education and Human Resource, Science, Technology and Innovation Committee chairman Datuk Dr Toh Kin Woon said Abu Bakar’s statement was very insulting to women and described the incident as a “serious case of harassment.”

Seems like ideology of "uncovered meat" is practiced not only by the Clerics in Australia, but also by Penang's Municipal Council President. If Abu Bakar Hassan's comment is acceptable, I wonder if peeping is by all means, is legal in Malaysia? In his context, if you don't wrap yourself up like a mummy or dumpling, then you have no right to complaint about peeping tom.

NUJ: Sexy attire remark utterly baseless - The Star, 13th Nov 2006

• The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has described as “utterly baseless” the remarks of Penang Municipal Council president Datuk Abu Bakar Hassan concerning the recent closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera incident at City Hall.
• NUJ president Norila Md Daud said the comments were utterly baseless and she questioned how the blame could be put entirely on the journalists when it was obvious that the CCTV operator had ulterior motives.
• “The issue here now however is the work ethics of the CCTV operator. That should be the main concern,” Norila said.
• The incident came to light after a fellow journalist spotted the images on the CCTV monitor in the control room last Friday.
• The camera had been focusing on the women’s thighs for more than 15 minutes, which later caused one of them to break down in tears after seeing her picture on the monitor.

Stop blaming the victim, say groups - The Star, 13th Nov 2006

• Stop blaming sexual harassment on victims. This is the call by women’s groups and leaders here who expressed outrage over the CCTV “peeping tom” controversy at City Hall.
• Women’s Centre for Change executive director Loh Cheng Kooi said she was extremely disappointed with Penang Municipal Council president Datuk Abu Bakar Hassan’s remarks over the dressing of women journalists.
• The National Council of Women’s Organisations (Penang branch) president Datin Elizabeth Devaraj said what the journalist wore did not justify such unwarranted attention.
• “The act of focusing the CCTV on her thighs was a gross infringement of personal rights,” she said.
• State Wanita Gerakan chairman Ng Siew Lai said Abu Bakar should not be diverting attention away from the act by blaming it on the journalist’s attire.

As I have mentioned several times in various blogs, "victimising the victims" is our Bolehland's speciality whenever sensitive issues are involved. If it is not good enough, some racist spices would make it taste even better.